Campaign to Reinvest in Higher Education

The Issue: As prison populations shrink, California continues to pour money into prisons while cutting resources for higher education.

Campaign Purpose: To capture verified savings from prison closures and reinvest them into education and community-based programs that promote opportunity, stability, and lasting safety.

Our vision:

• Close unnecessary prisons as incarceration declines
• Protect workers and communities through just transition policies
• Reinvest savings into California State Universities and Universities of California
• Expand affordability, access, staffing, and educational opportunity at California State Universities and Universities of California

Allocation formula:

• 70% — Higher Education Investment: Strengthen UC and CSU budgets to expand enrollment, reduce tuition, restore cancelled classes, reduce class sizes, modernize facilities, and improve faculty and staff support.
• 25% — Community Reentry and Youth Programs: Support for reentry services, youth diversion, and education and workforce development initiatives led by community-based organizations.
• 5% — Evaluation and Transparency: Support for independent research, annual reporting, and public education to ensure accountability and community trust.

On April 28^th, 2026, the Assembly held their Select Committee hearing on the Status of Boys and Men of Color. Speaking on behalf of our Campaign to Reinvest in Higher Education was César,​“che” Rodriguez. Ph.D. Che is an Associate Professor of Race & Resistance Studies at San Francisco State University, and a Rank & File Member of the California Faculty Association (CFA). CFA is a leader, along with CJC, and the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color on this multi-year campaign to use prison savings closure monies to support higher education in California.

Below you can watch Dr. Rodriguez speak at the hearing. 

On June 29^th, 2025 Governor Gavin Newsom signed the 2025 – 26 California State Budget. After months of negotiations and nonstop advocacy from members of the California Faculty Association (CFA) and fellow union allies, state legislative leaders and the governor agreed to eliminate the proposed cuts to the CSU.

In a statement, CFA President Margarita Berta-Ávila urged the Governor and state legislative leaders to reallocate prison funding to higher education. ​“While we are grateful that the Governor’s final budget proposal included a total elimination of the initial proposed cuts, we are disappointed that the Governor even considered cutting funding from the CSU, The People’s University. We understand that it was a difficult budget year and that there may be future budget years ahead. However, in order to mitigate future budget deficits, state leaders must rethink how to invest our taxpayer dollars in a way that is more aligned with the values of this state – and that is through the reallocation of prison funding toward higher education.” 

The California Faculty Association (CFA), the union representing nearly 29,000 CSU faculty and staff, is demanding that future cuts be made to the bloated prison budget and empty prison capacity instead of higher education. These demands come just a year after the nonpartisan and widely respected Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) recommended the closure of five California prisons in response to the rapidly declining prison population. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation estimates that the prison population will continue falling from the current 93,000 to under 84.000 over the next 5 years.¹

The LAO estimates that the closure of five prisons will yield over $1 billion in savings to the state, allowing for reinvestment in higher education to 1970s levels to lower tuition costs and expand access to all Californians.²

By redirecting these prison funds, California can expand access to higher education and begin the process of returning the state to 1970s levels of higher education funding.

“Budgets are statements of values, and for a state that proudly brags about being the fourth largest economy in the world, our funding allocations must represent a more equitable budget that aims to represent the values of millions of Californians,” said CFA President Margarita Berta-Avila.

According to numerous studies by the San Francisco-based Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ), California has funded prisons at the expense of higher education since the prison boom began 40 years ago. According to CJCJ Executive Director, Daniel Macallair, ​“the legislature decided back in the 1980s that prison building could be funded on the backs of California college students simply by raising tuition and redirecting money to the prisons. Since that time, legislators have never attempted to redress this imbalance for fear of upsetting the prison lobby.”

The endorsement of CFA marks the first time that a faculty union in California has demanded that the Governor and legislature reconsider their funding priorities on prison spending in favor of higher education.

According to a CFA spokesperson, the campaign will be a vigorous multi-year effort that will enlist the support of students and parents along with an array of statewide nonprofit and educational organizations.

SFSU-CFA Executive Board - March 12, 2025
SFSU-CFA Department Representatives — March 13, 2025
CFA Immigration Task Force — March 19, 2025
CFA Counselors Committee — April 3, 2025
CFA LGBTQIA+ Caucus — April 8, 2025
CFA Disability Caucus — April 8, 2025
CFA Chicanx/​Latinx Caucus — April 9, 2025
CFA Black Caucus — April 9, 2025
CFA Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Caucus - April 9, 2025
CFA Retired Faculty Committee — April 11, 2025
CFA Retired Benefits Committee — April 11, 2025
CFA Political Action and Legislation Committee — April 11, 2025
CFA Palestine, Arab, and Muslim Caucus — April 11, 2025
CFA Womxn’s Caucus — April 11, 2025
CFA Council of Lecturers — April 11, 2025
CFA Council of Presidents — April 11, 2025
CFA Council for Racial and Social Justice — April 11, 2025
San Francisco State University Student Union- April 30^th, 2025
California Alliance for Youth and Community Justice (CAYCJ) — August 6^th, 2025
Alliance for Boys & Men of Color (ABMoC) — August 22^nd, 2025
Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB) — October 28, 2025
Peace and Justice Law Center, August 28, 2026

Sign up to join our campaign here. 

You can also download a printable resource for our campaign, and read on for research we have compiled below.